


How Long?

by BBJ_3



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
Genre: Angst, Armitage Hux Has Feelings, Awesome Leia, Break Up, Ending Relationship, F/M, Hux-centric, Kylo Ren Has Issues, M/M, Minor Finn/Rey, Sniper Armitage Hux, What Was I Thinking?, don't screw hux, kind of crack, poe hux, things on fire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-04 14:20:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13366521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BBJ_3/pseuds/BBJ_3
Summary: Hux's loyalty cannot be bought. It cannot be bribed, and when it is lost, his wake is fire.Or...Kylo cheated (read: tried to cheat) with Rey, and Hux isn't having it. His no good, very bad day becomes Kylo's nightmare, and Leia's son being emotionally unavailable might just have saved the galaxy?





	How Long?

Sitting on the edge of his bed, Hux stared down at his hands. Only the dim light of his tablet shifted the shadows in the room. Each time he swallowed, the bruises around his neck ached. Ren's tear-stained face appeared every time he blinked. His betrayal tempered every apology. Sharp words cut through their chains, but the pain of his assault flamed with each memory of how Ren looked at that scavenger. Called back into the throne room, Hux had stood, ignoring the way Ren's fingers twitched. The Force swirled around him, but Ren restrained himself from dragging him forward. 

"How long?" Hux had asked. A rasp colored his hoarse tones - back when the bruises were fresher.

Ren hadn't bowed his head. He had used those big brown eyes as if his tears meant anything to Hux anymore. "Since Starkiller, but it meant nothing."

Cocking a brow, Hux bit his tongue. None of that mattered. It had never mattered. What existed between them remained only so long as they were honest with each other. As he had done so many times before, Hux discarded his hopes and love. The tattered corpse of their relationship couldn't survive. Surely, after pursuing the girl, Ren had to admit that too. When he did not speak, the Force pressed to urge him forward, but Hux stayed in place.

"It meant nothing," Ren repeated. "Her power would have been beneficial to our cause." 

Perhaps he might have believed that if Ren hadn't kept him at arm's length. Perhaps if he'd been told that their plan to remove Snoke had moved up. There were too many conditionals. Hux functioned on facts. "As you say, Supreme Leader."

Ren's eyes widened. His hand reached out, and even as the Force slammed against his back, Hux remained in place. His ribs ached. Resisting any longer would likely lead them to break. Gritting his teeth, the General stepped forward, stopping immediately when the Force ceased. Ren growled, "She invaded my mind. I could no more block her than...I felt nothing for her." When the other remained silent, Ren enveloped the redhead, dragging him the rest of the distance to stand with their knees nearly touching. "It was a mistake, Armitage," the dark-haired man swore. "I should have told you. It will never happen again."

"And if she had said 'yes'?" The force user's silence said enough. "My crew needs me."

"Yes..." Ren frowned. "Of course."

Bowing his head, Hux turned, and Ren's arms wrapped around his waist, dragging him into the man's lap. Hot air fanned over the back of his neck with each of Ren's exhalations. "I love you. I swear - I never intended..."

"I know," Hux had said.

And Ren had been a fool to believe that meant they would be fine. Standing from his bed, Hux threw open his closet, he unlocked the secret compartment, pulling his old suit from inside. Black covered him like a second skin. Slipping the mask over his head, he reached inside, pulling his sniper blaster out. The last time he'd perched, Phasma had still been alive. She fought on broad fields while he'd destroyed them from his nest. He'd won the death count that day. They'd never laugh together again. She'd never remind him to sleep. He'd never see the glimmer of a smirk in the tilt of her helm. He owed FN-2187. If the pilot failed to keep his end of the bargain, he served rather well for a death exchange. Prepped, Hux reached in for the final piece. Thawne had been an admirable opponent, and when Hux bested him, he'd given Hux a rare gift. One Ren shouldn't have missed, but the ysalamir remained alive. It's purpose would soon be fulfilled. 

Sliding a finger over his tablet, he left, and every crew member on the ship, if they were worth keeping alive, quietly and efficiently sought cover. Rooms locked as the whole ship went dark. If Ren had any sense, he'd find Hux by the bubble, but this time, the General had no intention of keeping his hands clean. This was too personal. 

"You won't be able to kill him alone," that blasted Resistance pilot had said. 

Hux frowned. His eyes locked with Organa's, but she remained silent. Her arms crossed, and a gaze like wild fire blazed behind the calm facade. Ren had failed to kill her, but she had no illusions about her son. Rey had been her last hope. Somewhere in that pathetic ship, the scavenger and the traitor were likely together - in love and young and stupid enough to believe it wouldn't destroy them both. Sighing, Hux had run his tongue along the cut on his lip.

"I can."

When a pleading look to Organa wasn't answered, the pilot snorted and crossed his arms - mimicking his general. "Sure."

"Do it quickly," Organa requested.

"What?" the pilot sputtered.

Organa chuckled though the laugh sounded hollow and dead. "His death won't change anything."

"It changes the leadership."

"And you're less genocidal?" the pilot scoffed.

Hux smirked. "Surprisingly, yes."

"Correct me if I'm wrong," a phrase she would only use when she knew she wasn't. "But you're the one who designed and orchestrated Starkiller."

"If we start talking about populations devastated as a result of our military efforts, I'd be interested to see the data on how little I overshadow you," Hux retorted. 

"Civilians - innocent lives -," the pilot began, but a wave of her hand silenced him even as rage reddened his features.

"Free elections? The planets decide which federation they follow. No rigging, no voter suppression..." Organa's eyes narrowed. "You're awfully confident."

Rolling his eyes, Hux sighed. "I know what I can do, and I know what my people can do with or without me. I succeed - you have peace. I fail - and you have me."

General Organa nodded, but there was distrust in her dark eyes. "Why even involve us? If you believe you can take Kylo Ren down without our assistance, why make this call?"

And wasn't that just the rub. He always did like the hedge his bets. Up until the girl, he'd believed he could keep Ren's affection. That had been a mistake. One he wouldn't repeat. Hedging bets meant ensuring his people would be safe even if they didn't realize why or how when Ren lead them to their defeat. 

"I am not of sound mind," Hux replied, having nothing but the truth to offer. The pilot snorted but remained blessedly silent. "My emotional involvement may result in my failure. I will not have him kill more of my people. I'm not some lunatic willing to make long-shot gambles with other people's lives." When Dameron flinched, Hux smirked. The jab had landed. "I take him down or you do. This ends."

"And yet you were biting for war..." Organa pressed her lips together.

Hux tilted his head. Eyes narrowing, he retorted, "I recall you led the Empire to the rebel forces to save Han Solo." 

Her brows lifted. "I see." 

"I would, however, like to live."

"We will discuss your proposal," Organa informed him, and even though he'd prepared, Hux had almost been certain she would leave him to fester until Ren pried the truth from his mind. Instead, she'd agreed. 

From the height in the hanger, Hux fixed the first Knight in his cross-hairs. Bodies piled up, but none of them were him. Perhaps the Knights didn't mean all that much to Ren. Nothing seemed to mean anything to him. Anyone he loved - they were just another lie. Another game of pretend. How had he been surprised when Ren tore down the hard-won trust between them?

The comlink in Hux's ear buzzed. Dameron had docked, hidden on the outside of the ship without anyone at their stations to find him. When the sixth body hit the floor, the comlink came to life. Standing, he waited through the harsh heaving of Ren's breathing as he found a new position facing the side of the ship from which Ren would come. 

"What are you doing?" Ren roared, having at least enough sense not to come into the room after his knights were so quickly dispatched.

Hux surveyed the hangar. "Dealing with an attack, or haven't you noticed our power's been cut and there's a Resistance ship on our lower hull?"

The channel's static popped for a moment before Ren responded, "What is happening? Why can't I reach you?"

"I'm in the hangar," Hux informed him. Pulling the tracker from his side, he watched as Kylo paced in the throne room. "I'd suggest you remain where you are."

"Or what?" Ren growled, "You'll shoot me?"

"Very likely."

"I can stop a beam."

"I've always wondered if you could stop two."

Something broke, and Ren headed down the hall toward the hangar. "You've killed the Knights of Ren. There are no more Force users. No one else like me. Isn't that enough?"

"What do you think this is about?"

"Rey."

Hux shifted, setting the ysalamir aside to slide out of the center of it's sphere of influence. "If I wanted to kill the girl, I would kill the girl."

"Then what are you doing?"

And the door opened. Ren hadn't even bothered to draw his light saber. His dark eyes sought out a speck of light in the dark, but nothing gave away Hux's position in the inky emptiness of the unmovable sphere of the ysalamir.

"Armitage?" Ren whispered. His brown eyes shimmered through the scope. "I don't understand." A beat and rage stole any confused grief from his eyes. "You've killed my Knights. We're even." The interior guns activated, aiming at the dark-haired man. A wave of his hand and the guns crumbled, but some got off their shots first. Beams of red light paused midair. However, the metal bullet tore through his shoulder, sending his arm down as he fell forward, curling around himself. "Hux!" 

"You made your choice. She made hers," Hux informed him. "I'm making mine."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"To be honest, I thought you were the kind to plot and slowly take over while tormenting Ben until he was a psychotic mess," Dameron grumbled as space blurred around them.

Hux shrugged. "That had been the plan."

"Until?"

"It wasn't."

The pilot snorted. "Sure, General Hugs."

"Our deal stands."

"You just killed the head of the First Order. Why're you running to some backwater planet?" 

"Sentiment."

Dameron frowned. His dark brows lowered over his eyes. "Sentiment implies you have a heart."

"Blowing up everything I've worked for because my husband cheated on me also suggests I have a heart." 

"Hus...shit," the Resistance pilot leaned back in his chair. "You know, someone more psychotic than you could step up. Grab the reigns. We could put you on trial - not well thought out."

"Hence, 'blowing up everything.'"

"Well, it'll take a while to get to Arkanis." Dameron turned back to stare out at the space beyond his craft. Standing, Hux headed toward the rear of the ship to change only to pause as the pilot called out, "Hey, I'm sorry Ben was a fucking idiot."

Hux licked his bottom lip. "Don't be. If he hadn't been, I wouldn't have lost any sleep taking over the galaxy for him."

**Author's Note:**

> Man, I have a long list of Kylux videos I need in my life. This came from a desire to see "How Long" by Charlie Puth with Kylux. I would love a Kylux video with Rude by MAGIC! too if anyone wants to do a modern AU.
> 
> Also - I'm not entirely sure what happened. I know it came from the above, but...I might have lost control. I might come back and edit the shit out of this later.


End file.
